Actors From JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR To Attend 50th Anniversary Screening at Park Theatre

The actor who created the role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway and in the 1973 film, Ted Neeley, will be in-person at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey, NH, for a special 50th Anniversary screening of the film and cast reunion. The event takes place Sunday, June 25, at 7 pm. Additionally, Bob Bingham, the actor who originated the role of Caiaphas on Broadway and in the film, is scheduled to be in person at the screening.

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It is loosely based on the Gospel’s accounts of the Passion. It was originally produced as a concept album in 1970, then became a smash on Broadway in 1971 and toured around the world. By 1980, it has grossed more than a quarter billion dollars in ticket sales. 

Academy Award-winning film director Norman Jewison (Fiddler on The Roof, Moonstruck, In The Heat of the Night) heard the concept album in 1970 and approached the rights holder of the album, MCA/Universal, to produce a musical movie adaptation. A deal was struck, and shooting began in the summer of 1972 in Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Beersheba, Herodium, and Nazareth. It was a huge hit and became the highest-grossing musical movie in the United States and Canada.

The record album was the #1 Pop Album in the United States in 1971. Memorable songs from the album and film include I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Everythings’s Alright, and Superstar.

Jesus Christ Superstar, the film, premiered at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 1973. The Park Theatre screening on June 25 is almost precisely 50 years since its debut

The stars will be on stage for the pre-film introduction and will host a meet & greet after the screening. Everyone will get a chance to meet them in The Park Theatre lobby, get pictures taken & have items signed.

The legendary film has been completely restored and remastered in high-definition video and sound.

Jesus Christ Superstar Motion Picture 50th Anniversary Tour Screening will be presented in The Park Theatre’s 333-seat Eppes Auditorium with its big 27’ wide screen and 17-speaker surround sound. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online at theparktheatre.org, by calling the box office at (603) 532-8888, or by buying at the door. The theatre’s Lounge Bar will be open starting at 6 pm.

The Park Theatre performing arts center is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire. The facility is fully accessible.

About The Park Theatre

The Park Theatre first opened in Jaffrey in 1922 and was the center of community life as a cinema, vaudeville house, and concert venue for 54 years until it closed in 1976. The theatre was purchased by the newly formed Park Theatre nonprofit in 2006. It has been rebuilt as a state-of-the-art film and performing arts center, featuring two auditoriums seating 433. It presents movies, live theater (including children’s productions), concerts, and lectures. It offers a place for business and community gatherings for the Monadnock Region and its 100,000 residents, school districts, and dynamic artistic community. The new theatre complex began construction in January 2019 and was completed in 2020. It opened to the public on August 5, 2021.

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